Improvement in time-locks



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

M. A. DALTON.

Time-Look. No. 199,520. Patented Jan. 22,1878.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2..

M. A. DALTON. Time-Look. No. 199,520. Patented Jan. 22,1878.

N FETEEIS PHOTO-UTHDGRAPHER, WASHINGTON, D C

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFIGE.

MILTON A. DALTON, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN TIME-LOCKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 199,520, dated January22, 1878; application filed July 27, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MILTON A. DALTON, of the city of Cincinnati, in thecounty of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Time Attachments for Locks, which improvement is fullyset forth in the following specification and accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to a time attachment or time-lock involving thesame general principle as that described in my application for LettersPatent filed June 13, 1877, so as to provide for the unlocking of thesafe, when the time-movem ent is stopped by accident before theappointed hour, in the same manner and by the same means as when it isstopped at the appointed hour.

My present improvements have more special reference to a time-lock ofthe aforesaid character in which the time-lock simply puts itself in thecondition for unlocking its dogging device whenever the time-movementstops, the actual unlocking of the dogging device being accomplished bymanipulation from the exterior of the safe; and they apply moreparticularly to the time-lock described in my ap plication for LettersPatent filed June 30, 1877, However, some of the novel features to bepresently described are applicable to timelocks in general.

The present improvement consists in adding, to an otherwise completetime-lock certain auxiliary means which will enable it to automaticallyunlock itself, or to put itself in the condition whichprovides for theretraction or unlocking of its dogging device or devices, and to remainin such condition during predetermined periods of time, while thetimemovement is running without interruption all the time. This featureenables a banker to so set his time-lock at the close of days pre cedingholidays, or other days on which business may be suspended, that saidtime-lock will temporarily suspend its guarding action on the lock ordoor of the safe for a certainlength of time on such a holiday, in orderthat the safe can be opened, if necessary, and will then automaticallyresume such guarding action if left undisturbed; also, in so constructing time-locks embodyin'gthe general principle of my invention abovestated that the major portion of the looking or dogging mechanismstepped in a bracket attached thereto.

will ordinarily be entirely disconnected from the clock-work, so thatthe latter will run practically unincumbered, and the wear and tear bereduced to a minimum; also, in providin g hereinafterspecified means forsetting the time-lock again and again without interrupting the movementof its clock-work; also, in providing means, hereinafter specified, forautomatically putting the time-lock at a predetermined hour in thecondition which admits of the retraction of its dogging device ordevices, either by locking the clock-work or by independently lockingthe ratchet-wheel or adjunct which more immediately controls saidclogging device or devices.

In the annexed drawings, Figure l is a front elevation of the time-lockand sufficient of a non-time-lock to show the connection. Fig. 2-is asectional plan view of the time-lock. Fig. 3 is a vertical section takenthrough line 00 00, Fig. 2, showing the application of the time-lock fordogging the train-bolts of a safedoor. through line o c, Fig. 3; andFig. 5 is a sectional elevation, showing a modification of theconnecting-link between the time'lock and the non-time-lock, which isintended to be used when the link is operated by the drivingwheelinstead of one of the tumblers.

The same letters of reference indicate identical parts in all thefigures.

A refers to the case of the time-lock, shown in Fig. 1 as mounted on thecase of a combination-lock, but which may be placed in any suitableposition on the door of the safe or vault which admits of its action onthe combination-lock or on the train-bolts. The case contains awell-constructed clock-work of any known or preferred make, of which theescapement and balance wheel sho uldbe placed in a separatereadily-detachable compartment, M, to provide for their easy removal andappli cation in case they require repairing, which. may then be done byany ordinary watchmaker without disturbing the time-lock in otherrespects. 7

In the example shown the spindle of the escapement-wheel 1(see Fig. 3)passes through the bottom plate of this compartment, and is Thepinion'2, which drives the escapeinent, is secured to the "exterior endof this spindle, and

Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section is driven by a crown-wheel. Inremoving this compartment, with its contents, it is first moved slightlysidewise to disengage pinion 2 from the crown-wheel, after which it maybe lifted out bodily.

Upon the revolving shaft T of the clockwork is journaled a looseratchet-wheel, D, adjacent to a smaller ratchet-wheel, 0, formed on orsecured to a cog-wheel, E,.which is one of the clock-wheels, and alsoturns loosely on shaft T. Ratchet-wheel D carries a pawl, e, on the sidefacing ratchet-wheel e, which the pawl is adapted to engage. Said pawl eis loosely pivoted, and gravitates between ratchet-wheel e and astop-pin, 0 on ratchetwheel 1), so as to be thrown in and out of gear,according as ratchet-wheel D assumes different positions in turning it.Ratchetwheel D, which I term the adjuncti controls the dogging devicesof the time-lock, which, in the example illustrated by the first fourfigures of the drawings, consist of a pivoted dog, 0, and a link orlifter-bar, B, carrying one or more pawls, b, which engage the saidratchet-wheel D. The lifter-bar is fitted to slide upon stud-pins fixedon the case, and is pivoted to the dog (J at c. said dogging devices,assisted by spring 0, acting on the lifter-bar thereof, tends to holdthem in the position shown in Fig. 1, dogging the bolt of thecombination-lock or the trainbolts of the safe, as the case may be. Thedogging device extends through the case of the time-lock, and itsprotruding end occupies a position to be operated upon to elevate itthrough any suitable mechanical means extending to the exterior of thesafe. In Fig. 1, where the dog 0 falls behind a shoulder on the bolt ofthe combination-lock, one of the tumblers, L, thereof is provided with acam, l, for this purpose, said cam being formed to act, whether turnedin one direction or the other, on an anti-friction roller, B carried byan arm of the lifting-bar, so that the dog may be elevated to releasethe bolt in the act of setting up the combination. Such an arrangementnot only obviates the employment of special means for unlocking thetime-lock, but is more especially desirable because the user has to donothing more in opening his safe than he would be required to do if thetimelock were wholly absent. When the time-lock dogs the train-bolts,as. in Fig. 3, and cannot be conveniently placed in close proximity tothe combination-lock, an extra cam-wheel may be used to liberate thelifter-bar, and said cam-wheel driven by a belt or chain from the arborof the combination-lock to accomplish the same desirable results.

It will be observed that as long as the ad junct or ratchet-wheel D canturn in the direction in which the dogging devices tend to turn it bytheir pawl or pawls b, the lifter-bar and dog cannot be maintained in anelevated position, butwill fall to their normal position that shown inFigs. 1 and 3as soon as cam 1 passes from under the lifter-bar.

The weight of the In the attempt to. retract or unlock the doggingdevices the adjunct will be turned, and in certain positions itsgravitating-pawl 0 will engage ratchet-wheel 6, without any effect,however, on the adjunct as long as said ratchet-wheel e continues to bemoved by the clockwork but when the ratchet-wheel e is stationary, inconsequence of the stoppage of the clock-work, and is then engaged bypawl e, the latter will prevent progress of the adjunct, whose returnmovement is checked by stop pawl or pawls d, in the ordinary way. Whenthe adjunct has thus become locked, the lifterbar, on elevating it, willbe sustained in its elevated position by its pawl or pawls b finding afixed support on the adjunct, so that the dog 0 will release the bolt ofthe combinationlock or the train-bolts, and permit them to be unlocked.As the ratchet-wheel e always becomes stationary when the clock-workstops, it is obvious that no lock-out can occur by reason of thestoppage of the clock-work before the appointed hour.

The throw of the lifter-bar and the position and length of the pawl orpawls b are so calculated that the latter will always engage the adjuncton one side of a vertical line drawn through its center, so that inevery position the weight of the dogging devices will tend to turn theadjunct forward. Should, therefore, the clock-Work be stopped before theappointed hour by only a slight impediment, the mere weight of thedogging. devices, as soon e upon ratchet-wheel 0, would again start theclock-work, and thus render futile any attempt to open the safeclandestinely.

From the foregoing description it will be observed that in the normalposition of the parts the major portion of the dogging devices issustained by the studs on which the lifter-bar slides also, thatwhenever pawl e is out of gear, as it is designed to be always, exceptat the times of unlocking the time-lock, the wear of the time-lock isconfined to its clock-work.

The protruding end of shaft T carries a fixed ratchet-wheel, G whichacts on a pawl, G, on the back of a disk, G, to turn the latter when theclock is running, but allowsit to remain stationary in winding theclock, which is done by applying the key to the square end of shaft T.

The disk G and a similar disk, F, (the function of both of which will bepresently described,) are mounted on shaft T, being pretty tightlyfitted thereon, so that they will turn with the shaft in winding theclock until they meet with an obstruction.

' The hand J is mounted on shaft T directly in front of said disks,whose edgesare notched to be engaged by a laterally-projecting tooth, j,on the back of hand J, near its upper end.

The shaft T passes through a slot in hand J, which slot is closed by akey-block, J provided with a spring, J w-hose ends engage the respectivewings of the hand J, as shown as exerted through the adjunct and itspawl in Fig. 1. The spring draws the hand radially against shaft T, so.as to normally hold its tooth j interlocked with disks F and G, butpermits the hand to be drawn outward to disengage its tooth from saiddisks at times when the latter require to be set. p

The hand is provided with a button, j, to facilitateits manipulation.The extreme point of the hand projects over a stationary annular dial,I, having lines marked upon it to indicate hours orother divisions oftime.

At the zero-line a slot is cut through dial I, through which a lateralstud, n, of lever n projects, to be operated upon by the point of handJ.

Lever n is pivoted on the case,reaching with its long arm just past thebalance-wheel of the clockwork, as shown in Fig. 3. It is normally helda slight distance from the balancewheel by the stress of a spring, 11.but when the hand J strikes its stud n and moves it in opposition tosaid spring, the upper end of the lever engages the screws of thebalancewheel, so as to prevent its oscillation, and thus stops theclock-work. The time-lock is then in the condition which admits of theretraction or unlocking of its dogging devices, in the manner alreadyset forth.

Preparatory to locking the safe the hand J is turned back on the dial Ifrom stud n the number of hours which may intervene between the hourofclosing and the hour it is desired to open the safe on the next businessday.

Hand J is frictionally connected through its spring J as well as throughdisks F and G, to turn back with shaft T in winding the mainspring ofthe clock-work until it meets an obstruction. Now, as it is desirable towind the clock-work as often as the time-lock is set, the turning backof the hand should be done by applying the winding-key to [shaft '1; andin order that the hand may be turned back a determined distance withoutopening the lockcase, Iprovide an adjustable stop device, consisting ofa notched ring, H, fitted to turn in an annular rabbet of dial I,between which and the front partition of case A said ring H is held inposition, as shown in Fig. 2. The ring H carries a stud, h, whose headhas the form of a pointer, which overlies the dial I, as shown inFig. 1. The ring may be turned by means of this stud h, to carry thepointer thereof to any point on dial I, and there locked in suchposition by a lever, h, one of whose ends is adapted to engage any oneof the notches in the edge of the said ring. The other end of lever hcan be manipulated by an exterior button to temporarily disengage ring Hwhen it is to be adjusted. On turning hand J back it will bring upagainst and will be stopped by pointer-stud h, which thus determines thenumber of hours which the hand must traverse before it again acts onstud n of levern, to stop the clock-work and put the timelock incondition for unlocking.

The disk F has a slightly-protruding blank surface, f, on its periphery,and the disk G has a similar, only somewhatlonger, blank surface, 9.These surfaces f and 9 form cams adapted to depress the outer end of aweighted lever, k, so as to throw up its weighted arm, which carries abar, It. The upper end of this bar k plays behind adjunct orratchet-wheel D, and, when lifted by the action of either of the cams fand g, reaches across the path described by a fixed pin, (1, onratchet-wheel D, so as to prevent the latter from being turned.

By a proper adjustment of either of the disks F and G one of these camsmay act on lever 7c from the hour of setting the time-lock, and

thus hold the adjunct stationary, so that the dogging devices may beretracted or unlocked for a period of time determined by the length ofthe cam. As soon as the cam passes beyond lever k the weighted endthereof will fall and lower the bar It? sufficiently to release pin clof the ratchet-wheel or adjunct D, which is then free to turn to preventthe retraction or unlocking of the dogging devices.

The cam on the other disk may in like manner be used to operate on lever70 for the period of time determined by its length on holidays, or otherdays when no regular business is transacted. By properly adjusting thedisk its cam may come into play at any desired hour on such a day to putthe time-lock in the condition which admits of the retraction orunlocking of its dogging devices.

. The clock-work continues to move all the while, and as soon as the campasses beyond the lever the time-lock will again effectually guard thedoor of the safe.

This feature of automatically suspending and again automaticallystarting'the guarding action of the time-lock is a very desirable one,since it provides for opening the safe in emergencies on other thanbusiness days without putting the banker to the inconvenience ofresetting the time-lock. The proper position of either or both of thesecams with reference to lever Ii] on starting the time-lock may bereadily determined by the dial I. A

It isobvious that, instead of disks, mere hands or arms may be used,provided always that they are geared to shaft T in manner similar tothese disks. It should also be understood that I am the first who hasconstructed a time-lock embodying auxiliary means adapted to suspend theguarding action thereof at any predetermined hour, and after a knownlapse of time to again automatically renew such guarding action; andthat this feature, broadly considered, may be applied to timelocks inother respects very different from the one hereinbefore described, andmay be embodied in a great variety of forms without departing from thisprinciple of my invention.

In Fig. 5 I have illustrated a modification of the mechanism interveningbetween the dog or bolt of the time-lock and the adjunct,and-constituting a part of the dogging devices. The adjunct or ratchetWheel D is mounted on shaft T, and combined with one of the wheels ofthe clock-work, in the same manner as shown in the other figures.

A circular yoke, 13, mounted loosely on shaft T, is connected, by alink, B to pivoted arm B which carries the dog or bolt B The yoke'B isprovided with a series of pawls, b distributed, as shown, so that one orthe other of them engages a tooth of ratchet-wheel D, while another oneis ready to drop behind a tooth on the least back motion of the yoke. Aslong as the adjunct remains movable the more weight of the doggingdevices will maintain the dog in the dogging position; but when theadjunct becomes stationary the dog B may be lifted or retracted bymoving the yoke B some distance around the adjunct, by

which it will then be sustained through its pawls 12 to maintain thedogging devices in the elevated position.

The yoke has a series of pins, b", on one side, through which it can beturned by a toe, b*, on the upper arm of a lever, b whose lower arm isarranged in the circuit of a projection, 1 ,011 a disk, L which may bethe drivingwheel of the combination-lock.

Toe 12 is pivoted to lever If, its lower end extending between a stud, band a spring on the lever, so that it will operate on the pins of theyoke and turn it when the lever is oscillated in one direction, but slippast such pins without turning the yoke when the lever is oscillated inthe opposite direction by disk L The stress of a spring, b alwaysreturns le-;

ver b to its normal position, ready. to be struck and turned by theprojection on disk L tain, its upper end is connected, by link b", to apix oted arm, I), whose lower end is in close proximity to the disk L Onturning the lever in the proper direction to move the yoke the lower endof arm I) is drawn toward the periphery of disk L and will be struck bythe projection l thereof, by which it is returned to its normalposition--that shownin Fig. 5- drawing lever "b also back into properposition to be again operated upon by the projec tion of disk L Itrequires a number of revolutions of disk L to move the yoke so far as towholly retract dog B and to accomplish this the disk must be turnedcontinually in the same direction.

It would therefore be impossible to set up the tumblers of thecombination-lock (in case disk L is the driving-wheel thereof) at thesame unlock the combination-lock. Now, it would be impossible to set upthe tumblers of the combination-lock within the very short time in whichthe dogging devices would again place the dog to secure the bolt of thecombi- To render the return of this lever still more cer nation-lock;hence the two locks combined would still render an entrance to the safeimpossible.

'What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters- Patent,is-

1. The combination, substantially as specified, with the clock-work of atime-lock provided with regular means for starting and stopping itsguarding action, of auxiliary means, substantially such asdescribed,'adapted for automatically suspending and again autom aticallyrenewing such guarding action at any time before the hour at which theregular means will stop it.

2. In a time-lock, the combination, substantially as specified, of theclock-work, the dogging mechanism, the adjunct which controls saiddogging mechanism, and a means for antomatically locking and unlockingsaid adjunct while the clock-work is running continuously, whereby thetime-lock is enabled to automatically suspend and to automatically againresume its guarding action.

3. The combination of a time-piece having a ratchet, D, disconnectedfrom its gear-work when the time-piece is in motion, and capable ofrigid connectionowith the said gear-work when the time-piece is at rest,a lock having acam upon one of its tumblers, the drive-wheel, or someoperative part, and a connecting mechanism attached to a dogging-arm inthe lock, adapted to be moved by revolving the arbor and retained orallowed to move back by the ratchet, according as the ratchet is heldrigid or not so held, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

4. The combination, substantially as described, of the disks F and G andhand J with a time-piece, the disks being notched to re ceive the pinprojecting from the inner side of the hand, for the purpose ofseparately setting the disks and holding them together when set.

5. In combination with a time-piece, the ring H and lever h, the ringbeing fitted to revolve loosely, and notched to receive the detent oflever h, for the purpose of locking the ring with its pin h in aposition to stop the hand J, as and for the purpose specified. j

6. In a time attachment for looks, the combination, substantially asdescribed, of the loose ratchet D, the lever is, and the cam-disks ofthe time-piece, the lever 70 being arranged with its bar It in aposition to lock the ratchet D, and one of its arms in a position to beoperated upon by the cams on said disks for the purpose of locking saidratchet when desired.

7. The combination, substantially as specified, of the dial, the hand,the balance-wheel of the clock-work, and the lever at, having a lateralstud in the radial line, or thereabout, of the zero-point of the dial,to be struck by the hand for vibrating the said lever to lock thebalance-wheel.

MILTON A. DALTON.

Witnesses:

- GEO. J. MURRAY,

JOHN B. MURPHY.

